Perseverance's View From 'Lookout Hill'

NASA's Perseverance Mars rover used its right-front navigation camera to capture this first view over the rim of Jezero Crater on Dec. 10, 2024, the 1,354th Martian day, or sol, of the mission, when it reached the end of its long climb from the crater floor. The rover is looking west in this image from a location nicknamed "Lookout Hill." Not visible is "Witch Hazel Hill," a scientifically significant rocky outcrop that Perseverance is headed toward. Once there, the rover will spend about six months exploring the area. Scientists are excited to explore the region outside of Jezero because the rover will encounter rocks excavated by a monster meteor impact that formed the crater an estimated 3.9 billion years ago. These rocks could not only be early Martian crust, but among the oldest rocks found anywhere in the solar system. A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet's geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust). Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis. The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA's Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA26511